Crypto art and graffiti in focus at Dubai Design District's Rethink Art programme

The five-day event starts on Tuesday in d3

Facade to Facade exhibition by Hussain AlMoosawi will take place at K Gallery as part of Rethink Art. All photos: d3

Icons of Crypto Art by The 721 is a showcase of works by 30 known digital art creators.

A live graffiti session will take place.

A view of Hypernova by Alienz Crews.

The Ajman Film Biennale’s Urban Visions: Architecture and the Future of Cities will take place on March 15.

A miniature printmaking exhibition will feature work from international printmakers across the world

Khadija Al Bastaki, executive director of d3.

Art season is well and truly upon the UAE, with Art Dubai on the horizon and myriad new exhibitions across the Emirates opening every day.

Dubai Design District is joining in with its Rethink Art programme for the second year, running from Tuesday until Sunday.

The event will include exhibitions and installations, live performances, activations and workshops for budding and seasoned art enthusiasts.

The mission behind the programme is to “rethink the regular” and it aims to bring creative talent together to experiment, collaborate and innovate, with local, regional and international names involved.

“We are delighted to present such a diverse, lively, enriching and exciting line-up of artistic talent this March over another edition of Rethink Art. Along with design, fashion and architecture, art is a central pillar of our d3 ecosystem,” said Khadija Al Bastaki, executive director of d3.

This year, as with many similar events, digital art is in focus, with Icons of Crypto Art by The 721, a self-described celebration "of the artists that paved the way for the emergence of crypto art, and believed in this movement when no one else did”.

It’s a showcase of works by 30 creators, highlighting art that tracks the history of the space and also featuring Q&A sessions and walkthroughs. This includes: from Rare Pepes, a display of limited-edition blockchain collectables; CryptoPunks, the first algorithmically generated NFT collection; and XCOPY’s Right-Click and Save As guy, which was released into the public domain earlier this year.

Elsewhere, three street artists will be hosting live graffiti displays that visitors can get involved in and a miniature printmaking exhibition will feature work from international printmakers across the world. Alongside that, Ink Your Print will offer visitors the opportunity to learn and try their hands at two hand-pulled printing techniques: drypoint and linoleum.

At K Gallery, there will be a showcase of 18 emerging talents in the UAE, including Facade to Facade by photographer Hussain AlMoosawi and Celebrating Middle Eastern Creativity by Khawla Art & Culture foundation.

Hypernova by Alienz Crews in the district's Building 7 will no doubt draw in some curious onlookers, too, as it’s an installation project where artists use fluorescent spray on plastic wrap with ultraviolet light for unique effects.

There will also be live performances from regional talent throughout the event, although names have yet to be revealed. These will take place between 1pm to 2pm and 5.30pm to 6.30pm at the Outdoor in The Core Block.

At Meraki Design & Art Studio, visitors can get involved in workshops, learning how to design phone covers, resin clocks and fluid art paintings.

A couple of days later, an international short film festival, the Ajman Film Biennale’s Urban Visions: Architecture and the Future of Cities, will take place outdoors on Tuesday, March 15 from 4pm to 8pm, promising to showcase “outstanding submissions” in an event that’s the "first of its kind in the Gulf and surrounding Arab region”.

More information is available at dubaidesigndistrict.com